Braves outfielder B.J. Upton is 3-for-21 with 11 strikeouts this season, but he went 2-for-5 with a double on Saturday night against the Nationals and also unleashed this perfect throw from center field to cut down Jose Lobaton at home plate in the bottom of the fifth inning …

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The Braves wound up winning the game 6-2. By the way, MLB really needs to conduct an open discussion about that new blocking-the-plate rule. It’s clear by now that no one fully understands it.

He has the strongest arm in baseball, but that was an unusually accurate throw for BJ. I used to see him in A ball when he was a shortstop, and must have seen him sail throws over the first basemen’s heads a dozen times.

I’m not sure what the complaint here is regarding the plate. Lobaton had a clear path to it. The catcher twisted and moved in after he caught the ball. His foot wasn’t blocking the plate at all while he stood in front of it to catch Uptons throw.

Did anybody notice the time it took for Upton to get the ball from his glove into his throwing hand and get rid of it? Heck, even I used to know enough to catch the ball near my right shoulder, with my right hand nearby, so I could quickly get the throw off. This is typical of outfielders these days.